Sony/ATV Share Tencent IPO Profits with Songwriters

Sony/ATV Profit Plans

Recently it was revealed that Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns an equity stake in Tencent Music Entertainment(TME). Tencent Music Entertainment is an online music-service company that owns three of China’s leading streaming services.

The Chinese entertainment media conglomerate Tencent owns TME. Currently, the company is in the process of launching an IPO in the United States. Estimates state that TME could have a valuation of around $25 billion. The exact percentage of Sony/ATV’s stake in TME is unknown.

As per the company’s policy, Sony/ATV has agreed to share profits made from monetizing its stake in TME with its songwriters. However, this depends entirely on if and when they decide to sell their TME stock following the launch of their IPO later this year. Distribution of the money will likely be a complicated matter that has previously caused issues for the company.

Other music publishing groups who are shareholders of TME include EMI Music Publishing as well as Universal Music Group. It is unknown if either will share profits with their respective artists.

Sony and Spotify

This news mirrors statements given when Sony Music was first acquiring equity in Spotify. Early last month, Sony sold 50% of its Spotify stock for a $760 million profit. Barclay’s and several news outlets calculated that would leave approximately $525 million for their artists and indie labels. However, it is unclear whether the money has been paid out and how it was allocated.

Although Sony/ATV does not own any stake in Spotify, Tencent owns a 9.1% stake in the streaming giant, with a quarter of that owned by TME. Due to Tencent and Spotify’s stock swap, Spotify’s financial filing included a list of TME’s 25 shareholders. It was a result of this list that news of Sony/ATV’s stake in TME came to light.